Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Parent Meeting Notes

For all of those confused parents out there here is ALL the Tumbling Program information you will need.

Congratulations to all the tumblers who were offered spots in the Oakville Gymnastics Club Tumbling Program for the 2011/2012 season. We do appreciate your dedication, commitment and loyalty towards the tumbling program.

Biographies:

Don Holmes – Co-Head Coach/Co-Director of the Tumbling Program

Niki Lavoie – Co-Head Coach/Co-Director of the Tumbling Program

Amanda George – Developmental and Provincial Level Tumbling Coach

Wendy Richardson – Provincial Level Tumbling Coach

Jonathan Meehan – Developmental Level Tumbling Coach

See the website under Competitive Staff.

The One Year Contract Policy:As you know the Tumbling program offers your child a space in the program for one year and at the end of each season we do ask all of our athletes to “ReTryout”.By implementing the ‘Re-Tryout’ and ‘Tryout’ protocols we are not trying to be mean or unsupportive of those athletes that we have been working with and developing over the previous year (or years). Our program is a competitive program with a limited number of spaces. We are simply trying to ensure that those athletes who are the most deserving of a spot on the team are receiving those spots. If at some point we do ask your child to leave the program this may be thought of as a good thing allowing the athlete the opportunity to explore other sports where he/she may be more suited physically, mentally or socially.

Summer Attendance: During the summer session we expect 50% attendance as a minimum. We would prefer that your child attends 100% of their scheduled classes but we understand summer schedules are far more diverse and we would hope that kids take the time to enjoy summer camps, weeks at the cottage and time with family. Please send an e-mail to your athlete’s coach with the dates that your child will not be at tumbling. Low attendance in some groups on specific weeks may allow us to accommodate other athletes who have summer training conflicts and permit them to make the minimum number of training hours.

Fall/Winter/Spring Attendance: During the school year we expect 80% attendance as a minimum. Obviously the less your athlete trains the less they will progress and the less they will be prepared for competition. It is in your best interest to have your athlete at the gym as much as possible.

Violation of Attendance Minimums and Removal from the Program: We cannot hold spots for athletes who do not attend the program. If you have schedule conflicts that will prevent your athlete from reaching the minimum attendance requirement but wish to remain as part of the tumbling program please e-mail the Tumbling Program Directors outlining your situation.

OGC Code of Conduct:We have created a specific code of conduct for our athletes while part of the team, mostly for traveling with us while not with a parent.As we travel to competitions you will see this document and if you have any concerns with it at that time we can address them then.

Schedules: Summer Schedules and Fall/Winter/Spring schedules have been distributed. We understand the logistical difficulties that families encounter by receiving these schedules in June as summer camp registration and vacations need to be booked several months in advance. Please note that we create our schedule with careful consideration. We realize that there will be conflicts and we have outlined how we are attempting to provide concessions for these conflicts.Also note that due to the ever evolving space usage of the gym we may find it necessary to change a scheduled class temporarily or permanently depending on the situation.We cannot foresee these situations but we will try to provide you with as much notice as possible prior to changes.

Tumbling Program Weeks Off during the Summer: Note that these change each year as we need to address the competition schedule that is also ever changing.We will try to let you well in advance so that you can plan vacations/camps/etc.

Active Rest: During the rest periods we expect athletes to remain active. We give the tumblers a checklist of activities to do during their off time in order to keep them fit.

Maternity Leave:Amanda will be taking over the National Group coaching for Niki as of November 1st.Wendy will be taking the Tuesday night Provincial DC training but Amanda will continue to coach the DC group the rest of the week.Sunday Provincial DC group will move to 11:30 to 1:30pm.Sunday Developmental 2 group will move to 1:30 to 3:30pm so that Amanda can coach the National group at 3:30pm.Developmental 3 group coaching will be taken over by Jane Kirwan, our new coach from Ireland.These changes will remain in effect until June 30th, 2012.

Nutrition: We will post some nutrition information on the blog at some point to assist you with meal planning for effective trainings and competitions so keep you eye on the blog.

Water Bottles Tumblers ONLY:We have requested that the tumblers be permitted to bring water bottles into the gym and kept in a box under the tumbling bulletin board so that athletes do not have to cross the gym to get to the water fountains.Only OGC Tumblers will be permitted this.Please send your child with a reusable water bottle for all trainings.

Viewing Area Closure: During the summer months and on some holidays the viewing area may be closed in the evening so there will be no parent viewing. Your child will be let in at the sliding glass doors at the front of the club and be ushered out at the end of their session. When the viewing area is closed no one is permitted in the gym lobby for safety and liability reasons. Our apologies for the inconvenience that this might cause.If there is an emergency and you need to contact us inside the gym we ask that you bang on the back door of the gym to try and get our attention.There is usually someone standing in that corner by the trampolines preparing to take a turn so we will here you knocking.

Individual Parent Meetings: We offer individual parent meetings as we or you feel they are necessary. If you have individual questions that pertain to your specific situation we ask that you not address these in a public forum but leave it to an e-mail or individual meeting.

Chain of Command:Speak to your child’s coach(es) directly for anything you may have questions about.Then you may speak to Don and Niki.If we are not able to help you then you can speak to Wayne Hussey the COO.If you have a question about an event/competition DO NOT contact Gymnastics Ontario directly.DO NOT contact the host club of an event directly.If you have a question address it through the coach(es) and we will ask GO or the event host for you as your question is likely one that other’s have.

Sponsorship: Athletes are able to search for sponsors to offset the costs of training and competitions. The OGC has created a sponsorship package for all competitive athletes. Please enquire if you are interested in sponsorship.

Fundraisers: We do two fundraisers that we try to keep easy and simple.This year we will NOT be doing juice box sales.We will be sending out information on the Family Fun Night and a raffle for Maple Leaf Tickets.

Event and Competition Schedule:See attachment.

Competitive Structure Provincial and National – See attachment, previous post

The Competitions.

National Tumblers: Need to attend an international meet at some point in order to qualify to the Canadian National Team.We will speak directly to those who individuals who this pertains to.

Competitive Wear:We change our competitive singlet and shorts/leotard every two years.More information will be coming very soon about this.This is our second year with a new suit so most of you should already have it.Please be sure to have your athlete try their suit on to ensure that it still fits.Tracksuits will remain the same this year.If you don’t have a tracksuit let us know immediately.There is a possibility for swapping or purchasing a lightly used tracksuit from another athlete.Information will be distributed via e-mail regarding a Swap or Exchange Day.

OGC Tumbling T-shirts: $12 for the blue or grey t-shirts.

OGC Optional Apparel:We plan to make some hooded sweatshirts, sweat pants and other OGC apparel available for purchase this fall as well stay tuned to the blog for more information on these items.

Any Financial questions please direct to Agnes Jankura in the main office.

Check your e-mails regularly for OGC info.

READ THE BLOG REGULARLY: It is VERY IMPORTANT that YOU keep up-to-date on the blog. It is the online bulletin board for our program. Everything is archived there so you can go back and pull any information that you might need. http://ogctumblingprogram.blogspot.com/

OGC AGM Sunday, October 2ndin the Rec Centre.You get 3 volunteer hours for attending so it is worth it to come and sit through the meeting.It is an important part of your responsibilities as a Parent of a Competitive athlete to attend this annual event.